


The Phantom of the Mindscape

by Cyanide_and_sparkles



Category: Gravity Falls, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Dipper is sassy, M/M, Mabel is wonderful, Phantom Bill, Please dont kill me, a nice dick, background mabifica, bill can be funny, bill can be terrifying, but a dick nonetheless, dip n' dots is skeptical of this "angel", gideon is a bit ooc i guess, gideon is a dick, he is the phantom of the opera, idk - Freeform, oh so sassy, we dont know, which will he be?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:22:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyanide_and_sparkles/pseuds/Cyanide_and_sparkles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 1861, the Gravity Falls Opera House, there are rumors of a Ghost, a Phantom, who has taken a liking to young background dancer, Dipper Pines... Who intends to figure out the truth about what is going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Lead

**Author's Note:**

> A Billdip Phantom au! actually, my first fic. It's not too great, I know, so any constructive criticism is good! :) If you think it's awful, tell me how I can make it better!

Dipper blinked multiple times, unwilling to believe what had just happened. His twin sister, Mabel, stood to his right, with his right wrist in her left hand, forcing him to volunteer.  
“Dipper can sing, sir! He could play the lead! He’s been taking lessons and he’s really good!”  
Not three minutes ago had they been running rehearsals as usual, when the backdrop came crashing down on top of the Prima Donna, Pacifica. She had proceeded to yell at everyone, then quit, storming out in a huff. No sooner had the directors been discussing what to do, and who should be the fall-back lead, then Mabel had forced him to raise his hand, and hollered at the directors that he could do it.  
His internal monologue, as all this was going on, was just a constant stream of ‘nope nope nope nope nope’, but, he couldn’t seem to be able to make his mouth move, and say the words he wanted to. To deny it, and have the directors move on.  
“Dipper? Play the lead? He’s a boy! And last I checked, he can’t sing!” One of the directors, Dipper and Mabel’s great uncle, Stanley said, sounding angered.  
“Why not let him audition? He could have gotten better.” The twins’ other great uncle, Stanford, said softly to his brother.

Stanley and Stanford had been running the Gravity Falls Opera House for almost 6 years. When they first took control, they had been shocked to find that their younger brother’s grandchildren had somehow found their way to the Opera House, 3 years prior. The older set of twins, Stanley and Stanford, quickly found out that Dipper and Mabel had made their way to the Opera House after their parent’s death when they were 9. They had quickly deemed them both dancers, not singers, and set onto making the best Operas they could.

The whole cast was staring at him, and he was about tell them he couldn’t, when he noticed Mabel. She was looking at him expectantly, and excitedly, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. gave in, and hesitantly began singing the lead’s solo; Think of Me.  
As he sang, he noticed his Great Uncles’ eyes begin to widen in shock, as they looked back and forth between him, and each other.  
When he had finished the song, Stanley grinned widely and said, “I think we found our new lead. Take him backstage and get him ready.”  
Soon, Dipper found himself being whisked off to the makeup room, shoved into a dress, and sent back out to rehearse.  
Being yelled at left and right, for messing up lyrics, and lines, Dipper was soon handed a copy of the script to study.

That evening, Dipper and Mabel were chatting excitedly on the bed. Well, Mabel was excited. Dipper was slightly cross.  
“You got the lead! Ohmygosh I am so excited this is going to be amazing-” Mabel began, talking in an over-enthusiastic rush.  
“They put me. In. A. Dress. In a dress, Mabel!” He cut her off, irritated.  
Suddenly, an amused voice came echoing through the room.  
“You have to admit though, Pine Tree, you looked great in the dress. And you did an awful good job singing.”  
“Angel! Dipper got the lead and I’m so happy, he’s gonna be great! Oh, I hope he gets lead for the next Opera! This is so exciting!” Mabel immediately began chatting.  
“Whoa, slow down, Shooting Star, you’re talking too fast! I can’t keep up.” the voice, that Mabel called, Angel, said, sounding even more amused.  
“I’m sorry, it’s just Dipper did so great! How were you able to realize how great could be before you taught him? I mean, he sounded like a dying cat.” Mabel began to babble.  
“Well, if I wasn’t able to recognize his potential, what kind of Angel of Music would I be?” The ‘Angel’ said, in a slightly teasing tone. “Even if he did sound like a dying cat.”  
“Thanks you guys. Great to know that now I sound better than a dying cat. Is that to be my only solace in life?” Dipper’s voice was overflowing with sarcasm.  
“Yup! Sorry, kid. That’s it that’s all you get.” The ‘Angel’ chirped.

Dipper and Mabel had been receiving visits from the Angel since their 3rd year at the Opera House. At first they were wary, but soon, they began having regular chats with the Angel, and Dipper began taking vocal lessons from the Angel. Despite the odd nicknames that the Angel insisted on giving everyone, they were a good source of company when the twins were feeling down. The Angel would tell them how to improve, and help them be the best they could. They listened to the twins vent, and told them how to get back at people without injury. The Angel proved to be a friend.

“Now, Pine Tree, first of all, we need to work on stage presence. You need to stop looking so scared stiff all the time when you’re onstage.” and then the Angel was off, lecturing Dipper on stage presence and having him sing, and work on body movement and hand gestures, among other things.

 

Finally, the day of Opening Night was upon them. The cast and crew spent half the day going through one final rehearsal, then everyone was preparing for the show. Dipper was shoved into the dress he wore for the opening number, and then set backstage to wait for his first cue.  
When the time came, he stepped out onstage and began to sing his part of the first song. Each act came and went without a hitch, and when Dipper sang the last lines of the whole thing, the audience, and the cast and crew, started cheering.  
Champagne bottles were out in an instant, but Dipper was too worn for even one glass. Helping his slightly tipsy sister back to their room, he quickly got his sister into bed. Taking off the makeup, and quickly changing, he soon climbed into bed, passing out as soon as he hit the blankets, not even noticing the soft voice of the Angel saying.  
“You did well, my pet. You did well.”


	2. An Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my gosh i am so so so so so sorry for neglecting updating this
> 
> school has been hectic and i keep trying to find time to write
> 
> anywhoo
> 
> chapter 2!

Over the course of the week, the performances went without a hitch. Dipper gave each performance his all, and the dance scenes went beautifully. Although he was still peeved about having to wear a dress, Dipper found himself enjoying his time on the stage, and enjoying the role he was given. Anxiety would cause his stomach to churn, then as soon as he stepped onstage, all of his worries would melt away.   
Soon, the final performance was upon them, and everyone was scrambling to make it the best show yet. Pieces of the set, and different props and costumes were flying left and right across the stage in preparation. Dipper stepped out of the dressing room, in costume, makeup covering his face. In order for the piece across the chest to fit, they had to stuff fabric in the place where the costume had designed the bust to be. This just made Dipper even more frustrated with the costume, due to the fact that Mabel would not stop laughing.  
“They- they stuffed fabric in your dress,” she said in between giggles. “They stuffed fabric in your dress to give you boobs. Dipper, congrats. You have boobs now.”

“Thanks Mabes, I really appreciate the commentary on that,” Dipper said sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes. “By the way, have you spoken to the alleged ‘angel’ recently?” He did air quotes around the word angel.

“Yes, I have. He says that you’re doing great!” She beamed at him, then her smile dropped. “What’s with the air quotes bro-bro?”

Dipper looked left and right, being sure nobody was eavesdropping, before he lowered his voice and asked, “You’ve heard all the tales of the alleged Phantom that’s been running amok? How they’ve been demanding money from the Grunkles? And has killed a few people?”

“Yeah, wh-” Mabel began to ask, then she stopped, and her eyes widened with realization. “You think that the Angel is the Phantom?” she hissed.

“It makes sense! Look, what are the chances of a Phantom and an Angel being in the same place?” Dipper whispered back excitedly. 

“Bro-bro, come on! That’s crazy!” Mabel said, looking concerned. “Our Angel would never kill anyone! They’re an Angel, Dipper!”

“But what if they’re not an angel? What if it’s just a man?”

Mabel sighed. “I’m done with this conversation Dip. You’re not making any sense. Besides, it’s time for final rehearsal anyway.”

She gently pat him on the cheek, then went to her starting position, as Dipper gazed after frustratedly. Finally, he turned and walked into his starting position, ready for one last rehearsal.

 

Throughout the rehearsal, Dipper repeatedly attempted to further talk to Mabel about his suspicion in between scenes; however Mabel seemed intent on avoiding him, and future discussion of the topic. She was well aware of her brother’s obsession with the supernatural. When he learned of the Angel, he had immediately begun bombarding them with questions about heaven, hell, and all things unusual. When they were 14, he had become convinced that one particular crew member was a vampire, the year before that, he was sure that Pacifica was secretly a siren, and he had some other suspicion the year before that, and the year before that. Mabel was fond of telling him “curiosity killed the cat” to which he would respond, “but satisfaction brought it back,” then continue to get himself into all sorts of trouble.

Rehearsal flew by, and soon they were all sent to get touched up on makeup and costumes, then into their places for the opening number. Dipper stood in the wings, feeling slightly ridiculous wearing so much makeup. When his cue came, he stepped onto the stage, attempting to swallow the feeling of anxiety swirling up in his stomach. Hearing the wood creak quietly beneath his feet, Dipper walked swiftly to his spot, singing as he moved. As they reached the end of the song, Dipper took in a huge breath, preparing for the final note of the into song, which was so high it was almost out of his range. The music rose to a crescendo, and Dipper belted out the final note with surprising clarity. The stage went dark, the curtains closed, and everyone was scrambling to get ready for the next scene.

Scene after scene flew by, and soon they were all onstage for the final scene, where Dipper’s character, Alice, sang loudly as she picked up her fallen fiance’s sword, and defeated the villain. Mabel particularly loved this opera because the female lead got to save the day for once. Although Dipper agreed that it was awesome that the female lead was the one to rescue her injured love, he found the plot of the Opera slightly derivative. ‘Bad guy loves the girl, good guy loves girl. Girl can’t choose - oh no!’ It was mildly irritating. Alice was the only smart one in this damn play, and everyone ignored her. Mabel often told him he needed to stop reading into these plays so much, but Dipper didn’t see the harm in criticizing the poor writing.

Soon, the final scene ended, and it was time for final bows. Dipper smiled brightly, looking at the crowd, when he spotted a familiar face. Oh no. God, please not him. Dipper thought as his eyes settled on a face that he would have would have to be blind to not recognize. Gideon Gleeful.

Gideon had been a friend of the twins when they were 12. Although his rather creepy fixation on Mabel was a bit of an off-put, they quickly found that Gideon was actually rather nice, despite being spoiled rotten by his parents. When Dipper and Mabel’s parents died, they were forced to say goodbye to Gideon, and flee for the Opera house. Dipper hadn’t seen him for 6 years, and was hoping to never see him again; the guy gave him the creeps. And yet, there he was, sitting in box 3, a shit-eating grin on his face, as he stared at Dipper. 

Quickly looking away, Dipper felt slightly nauseous. He had never done well with large crowds, and had been on crew for the first 2 years because of it. Later he had joined the chorus, as he was able to sing three rather low notes that the chorus needed, but even then he wasn’t seen. This was totally out of his comfort zone. He had been fine the other nights, simply because he told himself he was never going to see these people again. Now with Gideon in the crowd, that just wasn’t true.

The curtains closed, and Dipper quickly made it over to Mabel, who was chatting excitedly with the other dancers.   
“Ohmygosh bro-bro you did so good!” Mabel exclaimed when she saw him, running over and giving him a hug.  
“Thanks Mabes,” Dipper gasped, as Mabel was holding him tight enough to cut of airflow. “Can you stop choking me now?”   
Giggling, Mabel released him. “Sorry Dip-dop.” Then she noticed the look on his face. “One second girls,” she said, to the other dancers, then walked over to him.  
Grabbing Dipper by the arm, she dragged him to a corner. Spinning him to face her, she grabbed his arms. “Okay. Spill.” She said in a deadpan voice.  
“Gideon was in the crowd,” he said, his face a picture of panic, and his voice barely a whisper.  
Mabel’s eyes widened, and she quickly looked around to make sure noone was listening.   
“Are you sure?” She whispered back, well aware of why her brother was scared; his onstage coping method just got broken. Not only that, but he never really liked Gideon in the first place.  
“Positive.” Dipper said, looking at his feet.  
Mabel gave him another hug, although this one was less bone crunching. Then she looked him in the eyes, and said, “Go get out of the dress. Remember your breathing exercises, and try to get some rest, okay bro-bro?” She said, looking concerned.   
“Yeah, okay.” He said quietly, his eyes downcast. Then he made his way to the passageways. Walking swiftly to his dressing room, he tried multiple breathing exercises.

When he finally reached the room, he immediately took off the dress, then the makeup. putting on a linen nightshirt and linen pants, Dipper sat down on the bench by the vanity dresser. He slumped over and remained there, until he heard a knock at the door, then the sound of the doors opening.  
“Well if it isn’t the brains of the Mystery Twins,” Gideon said from the doorway with a large grin.


End file.
